One proposed motor control apparatus restricts torque output from a motor to a drive shaft, in response to occurrence of a skid due to wheelspin of drive wheels with the torque output from the motor (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Gazette No. 10-304514). This prior art motor control apparatus detects the occurrence of a skid when an angular acceleration (a time variation of angular velocity) of the drive wheels exceeds a preset threshold value, and lowers the torque output from the motor to reduce the skid.
The applicant of the present invention has previously proposed a technique to prevent such repetition of the occurrence and convergence of skids. This proposed technique restricts the torque output from a motor when the angular acceleration of drive wheels exceeds a preset threshold value, and relieves the torque restriction when the torque restriction lowers the angular acceleration below the preset threshold value and a predetermined cancellation condition is fulfilled (for example, when the vehicle speed is not higher than a preset level) (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open Gazette No. 2001-295676).